End stiffener for cars



Dec. l, 1925. 1,563,834

J. w. cou-:MAN

END STIFFENER FOR CARS v`Filed Nov. 27, 1923 3.Sheets-Shet l l f /nye//or Fl 6. 3 v James C'o/eman J. W. COLEMAN END STIFFENER FOR CARS Filed Nov. 27, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 4/ 336 /m/e/7/0r El James IV. for/man ILT/G` 2'/ ffm/wey Dec. 1,. 1925. 1,563,834

l J. w. COLEMAN END SVTIFFENER Fon CARS Filed Nov. 27,1925 3 sheets-sheet j /ffre/:ar l

James 14./ 'a/eman @XW Ht/wey,

Patented Dec. 1, 1925 JAMES W. COLEMAN, OF MQN'IREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA.

END STIFFENER FOR CARS.

Application filed November 27, 1923. Serial No. 677,265.

To all fio/tom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, Janus W. COLEMAN, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of the city of Mont-real, in the Province of Quebec and Dominion of Canada7 have invented certain new and useful Improvements in End Stiii'eners for Cars, of which the following is a full', clear, and exact description.

This invention relates broadlyto car end Construction and more particularly to stiffening means therefor, and the primary object of the invention is to provide a novel end construction for cars that will be proof against bulging and separation from the car sides, and also a stiffening means by which existing car ends may be rebuilt or repaired to produce the aforesaid end construction.

A further object is to provide a construction applicable equally to cars in process of building and to cars already built.

A still further object is to provide a stiffener so constructed and arranged with re lation to the car that'the entire space between the inner and outer surfaces of the car end is available for reception of the stiifening means and the inner end surface is free from nrojections.

Another object is to.. provide an end stiffener of a. character suitable for use both on outside metal frame cars of the type generally lrnown as Fowler type cars and to wooden frame cars.

Various other objects and advantages may be ascertained from the following description and the accompanying drawings.

A considerable number' of en-d stiifening devices for cars have been produced in recent years with a view to preventing bulging of the ends and the separation of the ends and sides, either from shifting of the load due to inertia in stopping and starting the car or to the outward thrust of loads such as grain. Probably the first stiffening device produced took the form of a pair of upright members extending from the under frame to the roof of the car. Various forms of transversely disposed stiffening devices have been proposed, some embodying to greater or lesser extent the features of truss construction. The diiiiculty'of providing a suitable truss has been the limited space at the disposal of designers and the undesirability of cncroaching upon the inside measurements of the car and of establishing internal projections at the ends.

be used in any desired spacing and in any location between the floor and roof of a car to correct weakness in existing cars or to impart necessary strength to new construction.

The desired results are obtained by providing transverse trusses having the com-v pression members thereof disposed in the thickness of the car end and the tension members Vdisposed externally of the car, the aforementioned vertical stiffeners serving as queen posts or struts in the trusses. The ends of the trusses are connected to the sides of the car and serve to hold the same against breaking away from the ends. With suitably constructed compression members in the trusses it is found thatA sufficient camber can be obtained even in the limited thiol:- ness of the end sheathing of an outside metal frame car to satisfactorily develop the strength of the tension members. When dealing with a wood frame or other type of double sheathed car, the greater thickness ofthe ends enables even greater camber to be placed in the compression member of the stifening truss.

The accompanying drawings illustrate various embodiments or modifications of the invention as adapted for new and old construction of metal frame cars and also for wood frame cars, but it must not be concluded that the forms herein illustrated con stitute all the possible variations of the invention, as many others may be made to adapt the invention to particular needs or peculiarities of car construction. It will therefore be understood that these different embodiments of the invention which have been disclosed have been selected from among a number of embodiments merely for the purpose of illustrating the flexibility of the invention, and that the invention must not be considered as in any way confined to these embodiments. In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a partial en d elevation of a car end sho-wing the application of stiifeners thereto.

Fig. 2 ahalf plan view on an enlarged scale ofi' one of the stiifeners illustrated in Figure l. l

Fig. S is a View similar to FigureI 2 illustrating a form of stitfener for and the application of such a stili'ener to old construction.

Fig. #lis a half end elevation of a modified form of stitfener. Y

Fig.l is a half plan View of the stilfener shown in Figure Ll. i

Figs. G and 7 are cross sections onthe lines G-6 and. T---'.7 of Figures 2 and 5 respectively.

Fig.l 8 is an endelei'ation of the stili'ener shown in Figures 4e and 5.

Fig. 9 is Aa half pian View showing a stifl'ener as applied to a woodframe car.

Fig. 10 is aside elevation of the tension member. anchoring means of Figure k9 substantially on the line lO-lO of Figure 9.

Fig. 1l is a half elevation showing a stiff- A ener haring compression and tension members formed integral.

Fig. 12 is a-half plan view corresponding to Figure 1l. l

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 2l designates the corner posts or angles of an outside metal frame and 22y the usual vertical end stifteners pertaining to metal frame cars. The endI` sheathing 23 and side sheathing 2st meet within the corner angles 2l and are secured thereto in the well known manner, the details of which are not herein depicted. The end sti'tfeners 22 are disposed externally of the end sheathing as is well known. The illustrationin; Figure 1 depicts a car end from the floor line 25 upwardlyfor a considerable distance but does not extend tothe roof. l

in one embodiment ofthisinfention vwhich is adapted for application to carsin course of construction and illustrated in. Figures l, l2,53 andf, the end stiffeners comprise compression members 26 and tensionmtm-A bers 2?. rhe compression members are pref crablyy stamped or upset so-as to be channel or U-shapech in cross section, as clearly shown` in Figure .6, but mayhaife an)7 suitable cross s etion.v In the section illustrated, the sides 28 which have a maximum depth equal to thethiel-:ness of the end sheathing ofthe car, are preferably ofuniform depth between-.the uprights 22 andare of gradually decreasing depth between these uprights and the endsofthe member, as clearly shown in Figures 2 and G. One edge of each side is preferably straight and' the decrease in width 'toward the ends is thereforeeffectedv by relative inclination of the opposite edges. Theinclined edges of the sides and the intermediate straight-portionare. connect-ed by a web `29 which is Jtherefore eambered or arched. The straight edgesof the sidesv are preferably provided with .ont-turned flanges 30. The

iianged edges of the sides may, however, be inclined to a lesser extent than the web edges, if the. nature of the application will permit.v Such a construction is illustrated in Figure 9 and will be referred to later. rhe widths of the web and flanges are preferably uniform from end to end of the member but may be otherwise. At the ends of the member feet 3l are provided disposed preferably at right angles to the flanges 30 and projecting on the web side of the member. According to this invention the depth of the compression member over flanges and web is equal to the thickness of end sheathing of the car on which it is to be used, and in outside frame cars the open side of the member is turned outwardliT and the flanged edges of the sides 28 are for all practical purposes of necessity straight to conform to the end surface of the car. When in position, the flanges St) of the member bear against the upright end stiffeners The tension member 27 passes outside the uprights and slopes toward the ends of the compression member. 'l` he tension member is preferably a flat vplate but may be of any other section and suitably formed at the ends to co-operate with the compression members. The ends of the tension member are turned over outside the feet of the compression member as at 32. For new construction the compressionland tension meinbers are preferably in contact at their ends and are disposed inside the corner angles 2l, beingl secured in place by 011e or more bolts 33 at each end, which bolts may be th usual sheathing attaching bolts of thevr sides or specially provided bolts. It will be noted from Figure2 that in this form of constructiongthe compression and tension members meet a short distance inwardly of their ends and that thereafter the tension member continues in parallelism with the compression member, so that` slight bends result in the tension member. Then under-load the tendency. would be for the tension member to straighten out. at these points but by reason of its engagement inside the corner angles 2l'this straightening out tendency is resisted by the angle itself, as willbe reaflili7 seen.y

If it is not desiredto place entire reliance upon vthe angles to maintain-contact between the compression yand tension members and to prevent the straightening` out of the bends in the tensionv men'iber.v clamping meanswhich will be described in connection with FigureB-may be resorted to.

The stiffeners are assembledA with the frame members of the car as illustrated, the compression member lying inside the Vertical members 22 which form the queen posts or struts of the truss, while the ten sion members lie outside the vertical members 22. Thestitfeners are employed in any.

bly one is placed quite close to the floor and several inore in comparatively closely spaced relation thereabove so as to strongly reinforce the car end in the lower part thereof. ln the case i' a bor: car especially additional stitl'encrs may be provided in the upper part ot' the end and are preferably spaced 'farther apartl than those in the flower part, as illustrated in Figure l.. The end sheathingv 23 is applied to lill the spaces between the several stiiiieners, the sheathing being rabbetcd to receive the flanges 8O ot' the stili'- eners. ln this way the stiiileners in reality torni part oit the end sheathing of the car. rloward the ends o'lI the stitlleners where the depth of the compression ineniber is less than the thickness oit 'the sheathingl the adjacent edges o1'I the sheathing niay be chi inH iered, as at 34.- Figure 6, to avoid the torination of ledges upon which grain or other inziterial would lodge and also to avoid splinter ing of exposed edges. The niaziniuiu dept'n oi the conipression nieniber being` equal to the thickness of the end sheathing, as aln ready stated, it will be obvious that the inner surface ot the car end will be tree i'roin projections of any description. lli/Then the car end is under load the compression nient` bers of the stiileners, owing to their cambered formation, tend to straighten out and elongate, which tendency is of course re. sisted by the tension ineinbers in the well known inanner.

A. slight variation of the structure already described, intended for application to exist ing cars but in no way excluded -troni piication to new construction, is depicted in Figure 3. hisconstruction diiilers ii''roni that ot Figures 'l and 2 only in that the tension ineinber passes outside the corner angles 2i instead of inside these angles. The ten ion ineniber may be allowed to assuine straight line troni the member to the outer corners ot the members 2l but is prejerably bound in to the inner edges olf the ineinbers 2l by yokes 35 lying' outside the tension incinbers and connected above and below the tension ineinbers through the corner posts 2l and sheathing' by bolts 3G or the lile. This yoke arrangement ol 'iatcs the necessity oit punchingrv the tension inclu ber and thereby reduc-ing' the section thereoif, which reduction would ot course necessitate an increase in the width of the ineinbei frein end to end. Vlhe bolts holding the voices insy be those which attach the sheathinfo"i or inay be special bolts. End and sido elevations ot a similar yoke ere found in Figures it and 8 respectively. The opera` tion ot this torni ot stiiiener is exactly the sinne that already described.

In Figures Ll, 5, 7 ant S a slightly niodilied torni ot structure is shown. rlhe essential ditlerence is that standard structural sections are used tor the con'ipression nien]- ber, but it will be understood that the invention is not confined to the particular standard sections illustrated and that others niay be employed. l'n these iigures the coin-l pression ineinber, designated 26, is composed ot a pair ot Z-bars 37 disposed inside the corner posts 2l and at their ends abuttingJ the posts. 'l`he tension ineinber EN similar in all respects to that already described and may be connected to the cui' and to the coinpression inen'iber in the saine way as the ineinber shown in Figure 3. rlfhe space between the .l-bars is preferably :tilled in by a sheathing' plank, designated 2&3? Figure i', which is suitably bcvelled as at 325 to perinit of its insertion between the ineinbers 3i. 'ihe Z-bars illustrated are perhaps best adapted for the purpose as they present both inner and outer flanges, thus providing both the necessary web section and the :toot 'flanges for bearing af 'einst the ineinbers 2l und 22. ln this torni the eilect of the caniber 'ii the compression ineinber is lost and relianceis placed upon the tension ineinber for requisite stillness. it may therefore be necessary in such a construction to einploy a slightly heavier tension ineinber than is necessary in the other torins. rEhe ZLbars torni absolutely watertight joints with the adjacent planks when disposed as shown, that is, with inner legs upturned.

'in Figures 9 and l0 is illustrated a inoditication ot the invention 'suitable for use with wood aine cars. rthe compression inernber, designated 2li, is siinilar to the nieinber oi? Figure 2 except that on account oit the greater end 'thickness ot the car end inuch greater cainber is possible. ri`he depth ot the sides 2id-is, however, liniited in thc central part ol3 the nireinber to the thickness of the inner shot-.thing 23 so as to avoid cutting` into the :intermediate end uprigl "s 89. nihecentral part or the compression ineniber is .tlusl'r with the inner surLtace ot the car and the ineniber slopes atits ends into abutting relation with the corner posts 2lb and .vith the outer sheathing e0. ln order to stillen the upright 39 a stri'icturul nieniber such es the Eil-bar 22h is attached against the outer surface thereof it' not already present. rllhe tension ineinber 271 passes outside the upright strut ineniber 22 and around the corner posts. The ends oi? the compression and tension nienibers are connected together by the bolt 33, the corner posts 2lb being` in compression between the ends oi" the inenibers. The yoke previously described is preferably adopted to bind 'the tension ineinber aoainst the end oif the car. Owingl to the dii'ii'erent nature oi wood traine car construction as compared with outside instal lranue construction the attaching;` bolts 8" of this yoke are extended along the inner surface of the car side and are anchored by ineans ot' bolts 4l passing through an extension 42 oit the tension member end which lies along the outer surface of the car side. A filler 48 such as the belt rail of the car is necessarily interposed. The central part of the compression member replaces the inner sheathing 23h which has been removed `to give place to the stili'ener but on account of the greater inclination of the cempression mem ber in a wood 'traine car, as compared with that obtained in an outside frame type oi' car, which leaves recesses ot considerable size, it is necessary to replace the inner Vsheathing over the inclined portions of the compression member. rhis is most conveniently accomplished by bolting the necessary sheathing to the compression member, a filler 44 being supplied between the coinpression member and sheathing.

The stiti'ener is applied `in wood car construction by ren'ioving a necessary amount of inner and outer sheathing and inserting the compression member in the car. The compression member is held to the uprights 39 by bolts 45 which also hold the vertical stitfeners 22h. The tension member is then applied and bolted to the compression member 'through the corner posts of the car and the other tastenings applied. rlhe inner sheathing is replaced over the inclined ends ot the compression member and bolted in place and the outer sheathing iiually replaced. lVhen under load the` compression member thrusts outwardly against the corner posts and this thrust is resisted by the tension member overlying the corner posts, with the result that the car end is held rigidly against bulging. rlhe yoke 35 holds the tension member against 'slacking and its attachment bolts form with the extremity 42 of the tension member a closed rigid loop wit-hin which the wooden car members are merely in compression. lillhile the compression member disclosed 't'or use in wooden cars is of the pressed type,7 it will be understood that ordinary structural 'sections may be substituted.

rihe stiii'ener trusses heretofore described have all been composed of separate compression and tension members but it is not necessary that the members should'be separate, unless it is desired to employ standard structural shapes tor the compression member. In Figur-es 11 and 12 there is shown a press stitiener truss having integral compression and tension members 4G and 47 respectively. T his result is obtained, as will be readily seen, by forming the compression and tension members side by side *from a single plate and then shearing through the plate along two longitudinally disposed lines (which terminate short oi the ends) to separate the members except at the ends and enable them to be positioned in diiierent planes to receive a queen post or strut between them. For various reasons it is prel'erred to employ two compression members with a. common tension member between them as shown, but the arrangement may be reversed, that is, two tension members with a. compression member between them. ln either case the duplicated member should not be regarded as two members but rather' as a single member divided. rthis 'type ot stitiener is available tor either new construction or repair work on any type of to which stitleners are applicable.

In all forms ot the device the end stiti'eir ers in addition to holding the ends from bulging form rigid connections between the sides of the car and hold the sides against separation from the ends. In all forms the compression member is located in the thickness ot the car end5 thereby utilizing to the maximum the space available between the inner surface o't the car end and the outer falce ot' the striking plate. As the strength of a section varies as the square of its depth it will be readily seen that utilization ot' the thickness ot the end sheathing enables a much stronger truss to be provided than it the truss was disposed entirely externally ot the` sheathing. rThe construction is simple, easily applied and inexpensive, and in one form or another is applicable to any type of car either during construction or as a repair. It the exposure of the compression members at the inner surface of the car is undesirable in cold or damp climates on account of frosting or sweating, the ditticulty may be overcome by the provision ot' a thin supplementary sheathing disposed either externally or internally. The method ot yoke fastening disclosed in Figures 9 and 10 is not limited to use with wood 'lrame cars but may be applied equally well to outside metal trame i cars, if desired.

The term sheathing7 as used in the following claims is to be considered as applying equally to the sheathing ot a metal trame car and the inner sheathing or lining ot a wood frame car.

Reintorcing trusses as herein described may it desired be disposed vertically with consequent Ahorizontal disposition of the strut members.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is l. An end stiiiener for cars comprising a compression member to be disposed in the thickness of the car end, and a tension member to be disposed externallyoic a car.

2. An end stiti'ener 'for cars comprising a compression member and a tension member, the compression member including a cambered web and sides tapering toward the ends, the edges of said sides opposite the web being straight and presented to the tension member, the tension member being connected at its ends to the ends of the compression member.

3. An end stiiiener for cars comprising a compression member to be disposed in the thickness of' a car end sheathing, and a tension member to be disposed externally of a car and to be spaced in its central aart from the compression member by intermediate end uprights of the car.

4. An end stifiener for ears comprising compression and tension members, the compression member being of substantially channel shape and disposed with its concave surface adjacent the tension member and including a cambered web and sides tapering toward the ends.

5. An end stiffener for cars 'comprising compression and tension -nembers, the com pression member being of substantially channel shape and disposed with its concave surface adjacent the tension member and including a cambered web and sides tapering` toward the ends, feet on the ends of the compression member turned away from the tension member, the endsof' the tenson member being turned parallel with and connected to said feet.

G. An end stiflener comprising a compression member and a tension member, the compression member including a web remote from the tension member, sides approaching the tension member, and flanges on the edges of the sides adj acent the tension member, the tension member being` turned at its ends over the ends or" the compression member and secured to the compression member.

7. in end stidiener comprising a compres` sion member and a tension member, the compression member including web and side portions, the latter being flanged adjacent the tension member, and the tension member being turned at its ends yover the ends of the compression member and secured to the compression member'.

8. An end stifiener comprising a compression member and a tension member, the compression member including a cambered web remote from the tension member, sides on said web approaching the tension member and out-tnrned flanges on the edges of the sides adjacent the tension member, the tension member being turned at its ends over the ends of the compression member and secured to the compression member.

9. An end stiffener comprising a compres sion member and a tension member, the eompression member incluoing a cambered web remote from the tension member, sides on said web approaching the tension member and straight in the edges adjacent the tension member and yout-turned flanges at the edges of the sides adjacent the tension member, and the tension member being turned at its ends over the ends of vthe con'ipre sion and secured to tho compression member.

-l0. n n end stiffener comprising, in conn bination with the end uprights of a car, a truss including a compression member disposed inwardly of said uprights, and a tension member disposed outwardly of the uprights and connected at its ends to the ends of the compression member, the uprights serving as the strut of the truss.

l1. An end stifiener comprising, in combination with the corner and intermediate end nprights of a car, a truss including a compression member disposed inwardly oi' the intermediate uprights, and a tension member disposed outwardly of the intermediate upriglits, the ends of said compression and tension members being connected to one another and to the corner uprights, tbe incern'iediate uprights serving the strut of the truss.

i2. An end stifienor comprising, in conn bination with the intermediate end nprights of a car, a compression member disposed in- 7ardly of the uprights and including a web spaced from the uprights, sides on said web extending to the uprights, and flanges onsait` sides bearing` on the nprights, and a tension member disposed outwardly of the uprights and connected at its ends to the ends of the compression member.

13. An end stif'tqener comprising, in combination with the corner and intermediate end uprights of a car, a compression mem-4 ber disposed inwardly of the intermediate uprights including` connected web and side portions, the latter being flanged at the edges remote from the web portion to present bearing surfaces for engagement with the inter1` mediate uprights, and a tension member disposed outwardly of the intermediate uprights and connected at its ends to the ends of the compression member and to the corner uprights.

14. Anv end stiffener comprising, in combination with the corner and intermediate end upriglits of a car, a compression member disposed inwardly of the Aintermediate uprights including sides disposed normal to the intermediate uprights, fianges on the sides bearing on the intermediate uprights, said sides being tapered from the intermediate uprights to the ends and a cambered web connecting the sides and inclining outwardly toward the ends, and a tension member disposed outwardly of and bearing against the intermediate uprights, the ends of the compression and tension members being connected to one another and to the corner uprights and the intermediate upright cooperating with the members to form a truss.

l5. An end stidener comprising a compression member and a tension member connected at their ends, and a strut between said ltd) members being a part of the car to which the stiener is applied.

15. An end stitener comprising a compression member to be disposed `in the thickness of a car end, a tensionmember connected at its ends to the ends of the compressi-on member, and a strut between said members being a part ot the ear to which the stiti'ener is applied. n y

17. An end stiti'ener comprising a compression member to be ydisposed in the thickness oit the end sheathing ot a car, a tension member connecte-'d at its ends to t-he ends oit the compression member, and a strut between said members being a part oi thecar to which the stitiener is applied.

18. An end stiiiener comprising a compression member including laterallT directed feet at the ends, a tension member connected at its ends to said feet and further connected to the compressi-cn member at points between the teet thereof.

19. An end stil-tiener eoniprising separate compression and tension members connected together at their extremities.` and means connecting the members between their extremities.

20. An end stitlener comprising separate. compression and tension members connected together at their extremities,` and means connecting the members between their extremities, said means embracing the tension member and connecting the same to the compression member at points between their extremities.

il. An end stitfener comprising a compre-ssion member and a tension member connected together at their extremities, yoltes overlying the tension member between the extren'iities of the member and tastenings for said yoke securing the members together.

22. Car end construct-ion including uprights, a plurality ot' separate transverse stitfening trusses engaging Said uprights and end sheathing disposed intermediate said trusses and forming with the trusses a complete end closure.

23. Car end construction including uprights, sheathing connected to said-uprights forming an incomplete endclosure, a transverse stitening truss'engaging said uprights and forming with the sheathing a complete end closure.y

2st. Car end construction including uprights, sheathing. connected to said uprights and n esenting a transverse opening,-and a transverse stiti'ening truss engaging the uprights and in part occupying the ysaid opening and forming with the sheathing aeomplete end closure.

Car end construct-ion including corner and intermediateV uprights, -sheathing connected inside said uprights, anda transverse stiiening truss connected at `its ends to the corner uprights and having the compression member thereof disposed inside the intermediate uprights and in the plane of the sheathing, and the tension member disposed ontwardlyY oit the intermediate vuprights, .the said intern'iediate uprights serving as ytruss struts.

In car end construction, including corner and intermediate uprights and sheathing, a transverse stittening truss, the compression member ot which is equal in depth to the thickness oitthe sheathing.

Car end construction including a series or connected trusses, yand sheathing interposed between said trusses andforming with 'the trusses a complete end closure.

Ca end construction comprising a series ot trusses connected together at their ends and arranged with the compression members thereot' in spaced relation, sheathing interposed between the :compression members ot said trusses and forming with such compression members a complete end closure, and strut members disposed at right angles to the trusses between compression and tension members thereof.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

JAMES lV. COLEMAN. 

